


the thing they don't tell you (be a hero)

by November_Clouds



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (try not to be so hard on her shes trying her best), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bad Ending, Break Up, Break Up Talk, Emotional Hurt, F/M, Hurt No Comfort, Moving Out, Sad Ending, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, no beta we die like men, so does pepper tbh, what do i pUt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:34:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24989134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/November_Clouds/pseuds/November_Clouds
Summary: “Pep,” he croaked, “I don’t understand. W-what is all this?” His voice cracked.She finally turned to look him in the eye, blue meeting brown. “I’m leaving Tony. This is goodbye.”--There's only so much heartache someone can take
Relationships: Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	the thing they don't tell you (be a hero)

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I know I said I wasn't writing for this fandom anymore, but I got this idea and I couldn't resist. That being said, I usually don't write prose stuff, so I'm not sure if the tense is consistent. Oh well.  
>   
> Sorry for the cheesy title, but I've been spending too much time in the bnha fandom and their titles... well...
> 
> Minor, minor tw for alcohol mention (the last line) and breaking up (which is the whole fic, so if you're triggered by that, idk what you're doing here)

He comes home to cardboard boxes sitting haphazardly around the room, sealed messily with clear masking tape. Things are strewn around the room, and upon closer inspection, he realizes that half the things in the penthouse, half the plates, half the decorations were gone, sealed away in clear bins. His heart sunk as he realized; it wasn’t _half_ the things that were packed, but _Pepper’s_ things.

“Tony.”

He spun on his heels to face her. Everything about Pepper was just a little off. She was wearing a t-shirt ~~(why wasn’t it his, she always wore his shirts)~~ with sweatpants and worn, raggedy shoes several years old. Her usual neat hair was disheveled and fizzy, her eyes rimmed with pink and her beautiful, freckled face was flushed. She had been crying.

“Pepper,” he breathed, “Pepper, what’s wrong, honey? Did something happen? You can always talk to me, you know tha—”

“But I _can’t_ , Tony.” She interrupted harshly. Her voice broke off quietly and she sniffled. “I can’t,” she whispered, “I can’t _do_ this anymore.” She sat down roughly, turning her face away from him.

Belatedly, he realized there was a suitcase by her side, plain black and unadorned. It wasn’t any suitcase he had ever bought or seen before. Pepper’s hand curled around the handle, her knuckles turning white with strain. He realized that the bag and the boxes meant something, but he couldn’t figure out _what_.

“Pep,” he croaked, “I don’t understand. W-what is all this?” His voice cracked.

She finally turned to look him in the eye, blue meeting brown. “I’m leaving Tony. This is goodbye.”

He flinched as if he had been hit and stumbled back, his chest heaving erratically. Distantly, his ears began to ring and he felt his throat begin to close.

She stood up and turned away again, fiddling with the thin handle of the suitcase, moving it up and down. “I’ve been thinking about it, Tony,” she finally said. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I love you.”

His head pounded and he shook his hands out. “Then why—”

“Do you know what it’s like,” she interrupted calmly, “when you come home injured, half-dead, from a mission? Do you know how many hours I spend, sitting and worrying and praying that you’ll pull through to a God that might not even exist?” She lets out a steady breath, hand reaching up to shakily push her hair out of her face.

His mind was murky, thoughts jumbling up. It was as if his brain couldn’t keep up with his ears, as if a small part of him refused to wake up and admit that this was real. He wasn’t sure he wanted to.

“Every time you get called to go on a mission, every time you suit up, my heart stops and I’m afraid that _this is it_ , that this’ll be the last time I’ll see you, that my last words to you are my _last words_ ,” Pepper continues, avoiding his gaze. “And when you get back and you lock yourself in your lab for days without food, or sleep, or _anything_ part of me always feels like _I_ could’ve done more. Like it’s _my fault_.” She’s yelling now, fingers balled at her sides, curling and uncurling.

He takes a step forward, trying desperately to move his mouth enough to form words, to cry out, to say _something_. “Pepper,” he pleads, “I didn’t know you felt that way. I-I’m sorry. I promise I’ll be better.” He’s begging now. “ _Please_.”

She draws into herself, shaking. “I know you will Tony. But I won’t be around to see it.” Pepper picks up her abandoned bag and walks to the elevator quickly, as if she’d change her mind if she hesitated. “I’m so _tired_ , Tony. It was easy when it was just ‘Tony Stark, eccentric billionaire,’ with a thousand different problems to be solved. But Iron Man…” She rubs a weary hand across her face, her next words near a whisper. “A hero’s not easy to love.”

She steps into the waiting elevator doors and clears her throat. “I’ll send someone by to get the boxes.” She says professionally, her façade back in place. For the second time that night, she looks him right in the eye, gaze sending chills up his spine. “Goodbye, Tony.” Unsaid words seem to echo throughout the room, words both of them could hear. _I hope we never meet again_.

The doors shut softly before he has the chance to respond. He stands there, in shock and pain, unable to process what had happened. After a few seconds, (or minutes or hours) he blinks slowly and drops his head. “If they told me how much it hurt to be a hero,” he says numbly, “I wouldn’t have taken the job.”

That night, Tony falls asleep drunk and alone.

**Author's Note:**

> I know i usually don't write angst, but what's the point of writing if you're not going to beat up your favorite characters :) Anyways, try not to be so hard on Pepper, bc she's doing the best she can :( Life is hard when you're dating a self-sacrificing idiot :(
> 
> ~~if there's anyone interested, i got this idea when i was reading[something that does right by you by PitViperOfDoom](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17641196), an amazing bnha fic about nighteye and all might ~~
> 
> please consider commenting? i'd love feedback!


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